Washing apparatus



2 Sheets-Shet '1 J. J. MEEHAN WASHING APPARATUS Filed June 23, 1934 N MWN Aug. 6, 1935.

Aug. 6,1935. AN 2,010,195 I WASHING APPARATUS Filed Jun'e 23, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 6, 1935 PATENT OFFICE" WASHING APPARATUS John J. Meehan, Washington, D. 0., assignonof one-half to Douglas 1 Clark, Washington,

Application June 23, 1934, Serial No. 732,153

2 Claims. (01. 299-59) My invention relates to washing apparatus and more specifically to apparatus for washing type in type forms.

The principal object of my invention is to pro- 5 vide apparatus whereby type forms mounted on a conveying means are causedto be moved past nozzles spraying a cleansing fluid over the forms so that the type is thoroughly cleansed.

V The art of cleaning type is as old as the art of printing. For many years and until comparatively recently type was cleaned by hand devices. As the art grew various devices such as brushes or sponges were attached to the press so that the type was cleaned while still on the press. In my invention, I mount the type form on a conveyor and move it past spraying nozzles. It is, of course, old in other cleaning arts to mount the object to be cleaned on a conveyor and thus move it relative to the cleaning sprays or brushes. This method is used for cleaning automobiles, batteries, dishes, railroad cars, etc. It is therefore not the purpose of my invention to cover such cleaning systems broadly.

So far as I am aware, however, the combination of a'spraying nozzle and a conveyor has not been used for cleaning type forms and for a very unobvious reason. For generations it has been the habit and custom of printers to fill in one side and one end of type forms with spit balls or paper wads in order to give the type a tight fit in the form. During the cleaning process these wads or spit balls accompanied by the ink and pulp fragments from the paper mix with the cleansing medium and thus tend to c'log up the spray nozzles. This same problem exists on a smaller scale in the paper pulp cleaning industry. In that industry much pulp tends to get mixed up with the cleansing solution but the particles are smaller and will thus pass through ordinary spray nozzles. The types of nozzles used in ordinary cleaning methods have been tried in type cleaning processes and have been found unsatisfactory, for reasons indicated above and which will be more fully explained below.

It is, therefore, another object of my invention to provide a novel type of spray nozzle that will not be clogged up with paper wads when used to clean type in the forms.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a slide arrangement whereby my novel type of spray nozzle may be cleaned.

It is a further object of my invention to provide.

means whereby the cleansing solution does not come in contact with the solution used for rinsing thus saving the former from dilution.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a means to effectively preheat the cleansing solution so that the ink on the type is more readily dissolved.

Other objects of my invention, some of them 5 more or less ancillary or incidental to those above mentioned, will appear hereinafter as the description proceeds.

In the drawings:

Figure l is an elevation view, partly in cross sec- 10 tion, of a typical form of' type cleaning apparatus embodying my invention,

Figure 2 is a side view of the flexible barrier along line 2-2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a plan sectional view of the appara- 15 tus shown in Figure 1, taken along line 3-3 of that figure,

Figure 4 is an enlarged horizontal section of the nozzle taken along line 4-4 of Figure 1,

Figure 5 is a horizontal section of the nozzle of 20 Figure 4 taken through the improved cleaning means for the nozzle, and

Figures 6 and '7 are variations of Figure 5.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, I0 represents a form containing type which is mount- 25 ed on the conveyor I I. Briefly, rm; type cleaning apparatus comprises the conveyor II, cleansing nozzles I2, supply means for the cleansing solution, rinsing nozzles I3, supply means for the rinsing solution, a flexible barrier or door I4 to prevent 30 the two solutions from intermingling, and return means for the two solutions.-

The cleansing solution is kept in any suitable container such as the tank I5. Any good cleans"- ing solution can be used but I prefer to use sodium silicate (NazSiOa). It is to be understood that my invention is not directed towards nor is it limited to the use of any particular-kind of cleansing fluid. Inside the tank may be provided any convenient heating means such as the steam coil IE to preheat the cleansing solution so that the ink on the type form may be more readily dissolved. The cleansing solution is pumped through pipes I1 and I8 by a pump (not shown) to the nozzles I2.

The nozzles I2 are shown by me as vertically disposed but it is understood by those skilled in the art that they could be horizontally or angularly disposed and still be within the scope of my invention; "Running almost the entire length of the nozzle pipes I2 are axially extending slots I9 which slots are wider at the inner diameter of the pipes than at the outer diameter for a purpose to be hereinafter more fully described. I am aware that nozzles containing long axial -slots 30 out at the top.

shown 2) have 3! for the conveyor 894,919 issued on Aug. 4, 1908 to Harrison M. Tanner. However, the slot in the Turner nozzle 5 has the same width on both inner and outer diameters of the pipe and there is no provision for cleaning the slot. As will he explained more fully below these differences are important ones and make for the success of my improved nozzle in the type cleaning art. Projecting into the pipes i! from the top and extending the whole distance of the slots are the rods 2! which carry at their lower extremities the cleaning wedges 1! which lit into the slots l3 and which can be moved up and down in the slots to clean them.

'lhis movement may be accomplished by any suitahle means but I have shown the rods 21 terminaiing into heads 22 by means of which the rods 2| and thus the cleaning wedges 28 may be con- 2o venicntly raised and lowered thus scraping out all paper wads, pulp, dirt, etc. As there isa close fit between the cleaning member and the edges of the slot, all pulp, ink, etc. can lie-thoroughly scraped oil the edges of the slot. It is obvious to 25 thoseskilledintheartthatthisnozzlecleaning operation may be performed without halting or delaying the cleansing process. At the top of each nomle pipe and around the rods 2! are packing chambers 23 to prevent water leaking In Figures 5, 6 and 7, I have shown various types of slot together with their accom- Fig. 5 shows a wedge type.

This produces a more concentrated spray and at 5 the same time prevents the spit-balls or paper wads mentioned above from clogging the slot. As can be seen the opening on the inner circumference 24 is larger than on the outer circumference 25. This allows a forceful, concentrated 4o spray. The cleaning device or wedge is attachedtoiherod 2i ineachcasenear the bottom ofihemdasbymeansofarodfiwhichmaybe apartofrodil. Piguresfiand'larevariations which have been found to be very successful as allsharpcornerssuchasil and a of Figure 4 which would tend to impede the of the ol medium through the slot. corners have been found to dclaytheprogressofspitballsandthustheypile so m p pthe. Iftheyarenot an opportimitytopile upithasbeenfolmd that they pass out through the slot with no dim- Refernngagaintol igures 1,2 and3, Ihave the apparatus,,as divided into cleansing comt 23 and a compartment 30. These is are bounded by partition 3i and 32, top member 33, and flexible burden; ll. These flexible (see Figure to pass through and slits 35 nearly their whole height to permit the passage of the type form. Asmallerfl appearsatthetopofeach barrier which is to permit the portions of the a barrier on each side of the slit 35 to give when the type form comes against it, thus allowing the type form to pass thercthrough. In Figure 1, I bavesbownthetypeformiljustthrough theflexi'oleban'ier i lonthel'ightoftheflgure,

7o thus the cleaning compartment 29. The

. barriers ll maybe of any suitable mate iialsuchasmbberorcloth. Itisreadilvapparmttothoseskilledintheartthatmyflexible barriers ilpemiitthepassagco fl e yp I5 llmthelengthoftheconveyorbutnevertheless keep the fluids within the bounds of their respective compartments.

In the rinsing compartment, which sometimes is unnecessary, I have shown two nozzles I3 whichmayormaynotbesimilarto those already described for the cleansing operation. As the depending on the local conditions. For convenicnce, I have shown the nomles I3 as being similar to the nozzles l2 and having the same cleaning means therefor. As a rinsing fluid I preferably use plain water which may be preheated, if desired, by any convenient means.

It will thus be seen that I have described a practical and cflicient apparatus for cleaning type in the type forms. The type form is placed on the conveyor at the right end and guided by guide rails 31. The conveyor, driven by any convenient means (not shown) moves the type form into the cleansing compartment 29 where it is sprayed by the cleansing solution from the nozzles II. The solution is placed under pressure so that the concentrated spray drives out the pulp, paper wads, ink etc. from the type form. As the system is a circulatory one, this matter would eventually clog up the spray nozzles if it were not for the cleaning means 20 which I have provided for this purpose. The wedge-like members 2. keep the slot in the nomle free from surplus matter at all times and they may be easily operated during the cleansing operation by merely lifting the rods 2| andletting them drop down the slots thus cleaning them. The cleansing solution and the surplus matter are partially separated by a screen 38 which prevents the larger particles of material from passing through to the sump 39. There is a pipe ll leading to the cleansing solution tank H from the sump 3!. At convenient points in the circulatory cleansing solution system I have placed valves ll.

After passing through the cleansing eompartment, the type form passes through the middle flexible barrier 14 and into the rinsing compart ment. As mentioned above, this compartment may in some instances be omitted, but gener- 1 ally it has been found desirable in order to thoroughly rinse the type. Because of the fact that sometimes wads of paper may be carried over into the rinsing compartment by the type. form, I have shown the noczles i3 as of the same type as the cleansing nozzles I! with the same provisions for cleaning them. This compartment has a. screen 42 to prevent large particles of matter from going into the sump 43 which leads to a convenient outlet, as a. sewer (not shown) by means of pipes II. The inlet to the nozzles 13 is by means of pipes 45 which are preferably connected to a source of water supply which preferably is imder pressure. It will thus be evident that I have kept the solutions in the two compartments 29 and 30 from intermingling by means of the flexible middle barrier II and the separate screens and sumps for the two compartments. This thus prevents of the cleansing solution.

After the rinsing operation the type form passes through the left flexible barrier I4 where it may be removed.

My invention is not in its application to the particular construction or constructions hereinillustratedasvariouschangesmightbe made in the construction or constructions shown without departing irom the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A nozzle for cleaning type comprising a source of supply of cleaning fluid, a pipe, a longitudinal slot of uniform cross-section throughout its length in said pipe, said slot being larger on the inner circumference of said pipe than on the outer, a packing chamber at the end of said nozzle remote from said source of supply, a rod passing through said packing chamber and extending into the interior of said pipe, and a scraping member attached to said rod and adapted to move 'in said longitudinal opening, said scraping member being characterized in that its edges are parallel to the side walls of the slot and are adapted to closely fit and simultaneously scrape said side walls.

2. A nozzle for cleaning type comprisingv a source of supply of cleaning fluid. a pipe, a longitudinal slot of uniform cross-section throughout its length in said pipe, said slot being larger on the inner circumference of said pipe than on the outer and presenting rounded corners to the flow of liquid through said slot, a packing chambet at the end of said nozzle remote from said source of supply, a rod passing through said packing chamber and extending into the exterior of said pipe, and a scraping member attached to said rod and adapted to move in said longitudinal opening, said scraping member being characterized in that its edges are parallel to the side walls of the slot and are adapted to closely flt and simultaneously scrape said side walls.

JOHN J. MEEHAN. 

